


5 Times Makoto tells Haru he loves him, and one time Haru says it first.

by randomwriter57



Category: Free!
Genre: 5+1 Things, Fluff, M/M, a bit of angst bc of that one episode in eternal summer (episode 11), but mainly fluff, does this count as slow burn, spoilers for starting days
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-07-30
Updated: 2016-07-30
Packaged: 2018-07-26 23:10:02
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,617
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7594075
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/randomwriter57/pseuds/randomwriter57
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>In turns, they speak the words which connect them and strengthen their bond.</p>
            </blockquote>





	5 Times Makoto tells Haru he loves him, and one time Haru says it first.

**Author's Note:**

> I watched High Speed! Free! Starting Days. It’s beautiful. It filled me with emotions, and this is what came out of that. Please enjoy this one-shot, and have a great day/night.
> 
> Warning: Slight spoilers for the makoharu swimming scene in Starting Days and for the anime, if you’ve not watched it (particularly ep11 of ES).

**1.**

Tiny feet push through the sand, propelling their owners towards the tide. Unlike the other kids on the beach, they don’t rush or race each other. Together, they run simultaneously into the waves, shrieking as the cold touches their feet. It chills their bones, but they continue. Fearless, they forage into the waves.

The world underneath is beautiful. All sound a is a blur. Alongside them, fish soar through the current. Sea plants sway beneath them. But Haru and Makoto have eyes only for each other. Haru takes the lead, like a dolphin amongst its kind, swimming as naturally as he breathes. Makoto follows, less graceful but still powerful, still fitting in with the surroundings. Haru looks over his shoulder at his friend. Two excited smiles appear, bright eyed and open mouthed. This place is where they belong, swimming together in tandem.

Eventually they must surface for air. Taking deep breaths, they continue to smile. Then they fall back, floating on their backs together, part of the sparkling sea, gazing up at the sky. A single hand reaches up, spread open as though catching the sun. Water dazzles them as it reflects the light, falling from Makoto’s hand onto his face. He closes his eyes, enjoying the sensation.

They only stand back up when they hear the distant voices of their parents, calling them for lunch. Haru moves to swim back, when a voice stops him.

Makoto’s figure stands out against the blue of the sky, the cotton-white clouds. Above their heads, the sun casts light over him. His eyes sparkle with joy, a green pool of light. His cheeks are pink with happiness. His smile stretches across his face as though the emotion is about to burst out of him.

“I love you, Haru-chan!”

Haru’s eyes widen, his breath caught in his throat. His heart swells with emotion, filling his chest, every pore of his body. The feeling is overwhelming. Makoto’s smile is overwhelming. Not knowing what to say, how to react, Haru looks away, feeling his own cheeks heat up.

In front of him, Makoto continues to smile. By now, he’s used to Haru. Instead of feeling disheartened, this reaction makes him surer that Haru feels the same. He wades forward in the water, then leans into a front crawl.

“Let’s go, Haru-chan!”

Able to breathe again, Haru takes a deep breath and follows Makoto.

 

* * *

 

 

**2.**

The air is full of excitement. By the starting blocks, they line up in fours, teams ready to swim together in the same lane. At the head of their group, Makoto’s silhouette looks confident. He pulls on his swimming cap and goggles, moves to the side of the starting block. A second before the first whistle, Makoto looks back to his team. He smiles at Nagisa, gives Rin a thumbs-up. Then his eyes meet Haru’s.

Even behind goggles, Haru can see how Makoto feels. The nervousness which usually graces his eyes before competitions is gone. Right now, Makoto is excited - truly excited about swimming with his friends. A team he’s never had before. One with whom he’ll share a sight they’ve never seen before. A sight which Rin introduced, but would be incomplete without any member of their team. Makoto especially. In the end, he persuaded Haru to join them, after all.

The whistle blows. The moment ends. Makoto turns back and jumps into the pool, taking his place against the starting block, gripping the bars on the side. His knuckles whiten.

The start signal sounds. With a perfect arc, Makoto dives into the water. Though his swimming is forceful, today it is smooth. Not as reckless as usual. Today, Haru realises, Makoto isn’t afraid. For what reason, Haru can’t fathom. The only thing that’s changed is the setting. Perhaps Rin’s words before the relay inspired him.

Makoto touches the wall and Nagisa soars above him. Hoisting himself out, Makoto joins Haru’s side. No words are spoken between them. They’re too busy cheering for Nagisa, and then for Rin when they exchange. Finally, Haru reaches the starting block, pulling his goggles over his eyes. He crouches, carrying the feelings of his team with him.

“HARU!”

He dives.

The length is a blur of speed and sound, emotion and determination. Distantly, he hears the sound of his teammates, his friends, calling his name. He pushes towards that sound, reaching out for them.

His hand hits the wall.

An eruption. As soon as his head is out of the water, sound invades his ears. Mostly it’s cheering, but then he hears his name.

Above him, Makoto reaches a hand out to him, eyes watery but bright.

“Haru,” he says, voice trembling.

Haru takes his hand. Makoto pulls him out onto the surface. Before Haru can say anything, he is almost bowled over by Nagisa. Not even a second later Rin joins him, and Makoto is dragged in to what becomes a group hug. For the first time, it feels as though they are connected, sharing each other’s emotions. Haru’s excitement is Makoto’s excitement, and it lives in Nagisa and Rin too. Together they laugh and smile, living in a perfect moment together.

When they disband, Nagisa launches into discussion with Rin, enthusing about his amazing butterfly stroke. Meanwhile, Haru stands a little apart, not knowing how to feel about this new emotion running through him. It’s like nothing he’s ever felt before.

“Haru.”

The voice brings Haru back out of his world, and he turns to face his best friend.

Everything about Makoto - his bursting smile, his shining eyes - it brings back the memory of that day. Then he speaks the words, in the most gentle and emotional voice, a smile in sound form.

“I love you, Haru-chan.”

That overwhelming feeling rushes over Haru again, a tide sweeping him out to uncharted waters. His chest constricts, breath stopping. He wants to say something, but he doesn’t know which words to use. Before he can even tell Makoto to drop the -chan, however, Nagisa calls his name, and looking away for a second, he misses Makoto’s chuckle. When he looks back, Makoto is in conversation with Rin, and the moment is over.

 

* * *

 

 

**3.**

Their first year of middle school brings turmoil. From the beginning, confusion engulfs them, as well as a sense of loneliness which Haru can't understand. At first, he doesn’t know why he can’t swim the relay without feeling empty anymore. It’s as though there’s a hole inside him, as though something is missing.

Makoto doesn’t help. Something happens, and Makoto changes. Haru hates it. He isn’t acting like himself anymore. That cheerful, busybody Makoto has become forlorn and distanced. It feels as though he is avoiding Haru, so much that his constant dinner invitations sound like obligations rather than genuine requests. The tubs of food prepared by Makoto’s mother pile up in Haru’s fridge. He can't bear looking at them.

On the night it happens, Haru doesn’t expect to see Makoto. He rounds the corner at the top of the stairs to find Makoto walking in his direction. They both stop, surprised.

“Haru?” Makoto says. His eyes move to something to Haru’s right, by his legs. “Is that your dinner…?”

He hides it behind his leg, but it doesn’t stop Makoto from rushing forward interrogating Haru about his eating, or lack thereof.

That’s when it happens. Haru’s feelings rush out in a barrage of words and he grabs Makoto’s arms. His fears arise, the knowledge that Makoto is changing and the lack of understanding as to why, his knowledge that Makoto is forcing himself to change.

“Makoto is Makoto!” Haru tells him, heart hammering in his chest.

Eyes widening, Makoto is silent for a moment in surprise. He then gasps and moves closer.

“Haru! Come with me!”

He doesn’t get the chance to say anything before Makoto takes his wrist, dragging him back down the stairs.

Even Haru doesn’t expect their destination to be the swimming pool, but he doesn’t complain. The two of them slip in quietly, fully clothed but uncaring. They swim on their backs from opposite sides of the pool, passing each other in neighbouring lanes. Then, in sync, they turn and dive under the surface. Their swimming now is just like back then. Still natural, flowing with the water. They circle each other, Haru on the pool floor, Makoto above him, surrounded by a halo of light and shimmering water. Eyes filled with emotion matching a heartfelt smile, Makoto extends his hands to Haru.

Haru takes them.

A few minutes later, Makoto explains everything. Why he’s been forcing himself to change. His feelings about swimming. How their manager made him reconsider why he swims.

“I really like swimming, but I also want you to be there too, Haru.”

Makoto stands up, pushing away from the buoys they’d been using as a headrest. Haru follows, standing to face him. Makoto’s eyes shine with emotion, and he closes them in a carefree smile.

“I love swimming and I love Haru-chan, so I want to swim with you!”

Haru gasps and the breath catches, swelling in his chest. He gazes at Makoto, heart full of a growing emotion, one he’s felt a few times over and is still trying to understand. He looks at Makoto, his smile and his cheerful face, and he sees the Makoto from years ago, when they swam in the ocean together. Makoto, he realises, has not changed at all. This is still the Makoto from that time.

Without proper emotions to reply with, Haru looks away, feeling his cheeks burn. And even though he reminds Makoto to stop using -chan, he still follows it up with his true feelings.

“Of course we’d swim together.”

Makoto gasps and his smile grows. “Yeah!”

 

* * *

 

 

**4.**

The fourth time Makoto says those words, Haru barely registers them.

Not only are they said when Haru is in a state of denial, of hopelessness, but they are spoken during the first argument they ever have.

In hindsight, Haru realises that he’s partially at fault. Wrapped up in frustration and constantly followed by Rin, Rei and Nagisa all telling him to swim professionally, he doesn’t realise until much, much later that Makoto never tried to force him into that career path. Even during their argument, it was only Haru who brought up swimming, who assumed that’s what Makoto was telling him to do.

“I’m fine with the way things are!” Haru says, anger roaring within him, the gentle candle of his relationship with Makoto suddenly tipped over to set everything alight.

“You’re not fine!”

The tension in Makoto’s voice and his arguing against him stops Haru from arguing back whilst he speaks.

“You’re not fine! That’s why we’re all telling you this! Nagisa, Rei, Rin, and me!” Makoto’s eyes glisten, but this time it isn’t with happiness. “It’s because we all love you. Because we all care about you. Why can’t you understand that?!”

The words almost break through to Haru, and much later, he finds them echoing in his head. But when Makoto next speaks, bringing back the subject of the future, Haru’s temper snaps once more. He says the words he will regret for a long time afterwards.

“All you ever do is meddle with everyone! Stop sticking your nose in everyone else’s business! A dream? A future? Well, what about yours? Stop going on about other people’s futures when you haven’t even decided your own!”

Neither of them speak for a moment. Haru’s breathes are heavy from exertion. He looks at Makoto, waiting to see something, some sign of a reaction. “Well, say something.”

What he doesn’t expect is the gentle motion with which Makoto removes his hand from Haru’s wrist. How cold his own wrist feels from the lack of that hand. The grace note in Makoto’s quiet voice as he says, “I _have_ decided.”

Makoto’s eyes meet Haru’s, but this time they’re filled with hurt and determination. “I’m going to university in Tokyo.”

And Haru’s world comes crashing down.

 

* * *

 

 

**5.**

Haru is blessed to find that his and Makoto’s relationship is stronger after he returns from Australia. Their reunion in the airport, the love in Makoto’s eyes as he welcomes Haru home, that’s what tells Haru that this is special.

So after they’ve apologised and Haru’s explained his decision to his friends, all that’s left for them is their relay, the last one as a team, as _their_ team.

Together, the four of them swim with all their hearts, creating a new sight, one which is new for Rei and updated for the rest of them. They pour their emotions into the relay, swimming as quickly as they can to reach the next person, to connect their feelings.

When Haru reaches the end and looks up, the number six is a blur on the board. What he cares more about is the faces of his watery-eyed teammates above him, smiling down at him. Haru takes the hand which is always extended to him, bringing him back to the surface, connected to Makoto, whose warm grip and warmer eyes speak the words before they are even spoken. The two of them are pulled into a group hug of tears and smiles which lasts so long they need to be broken apart by the force of the staff, who tell them to leave the poolside so they can prepare for the next race. None of them care, though. They’re riding high on emotions and the love which connects them all.

When they reach the tunnel, Makoto tugs Haru back. The next swimmers are already at the poolside, and the tunnel is empty except for their team. Nagisa and Rei walk on, oblivious.

Makoto smiles at Haru, eyes shining with affection. The light from the stadium behind him crowns his head, making it as though he’s glowing.

“I love you, Haru,” Makoto says, voice lilting with the sound of Haru’s name.

Haru’s chest swells with emotion, his heart stopping, and he realises what this feeling is.

 

* * *

 

 

**+1.**

They stand on the beach, side by side. It’s their last day in Iwatobi together. Tomorrow, the two of them will embark on a journey to a city filled with bustling life, one which pushes them ahead of their usual pace. But for today, they can enjoy the sunset together, watching the pink-red-golden sky over the glittering waves. Above them, a seabird calls, soaring in the sky. Another one joins it, and they fly into the distance together.

“Makoto,” Haru says into the sea breeze, enjoying the familiar feeling of the name on his tongue.

“Haru?” Beside him, Makoto turns his head to face him. His voice is cheerful, though the question is evident in his enunciation.

Taking a deep breath, Haru’s head turns to face Makoto’s. Their eyes meet, connecting their emotions and feelings in a way which almost makes Haru’s next words unnecessary. He still says them, though, because otherwise, Makoto might not understand their full meaning.

“I love you.”

His mouth curves around the word, bringing itself to rest on a smile. In his chest, his heart swells once more, and his breath is cut short by the beauty of Makoto’s face; How the wind plays with his hair, how his face opens in surprise, mouth and eyes widening. Then he melts into a smile, gentle and heartfelt, cheeks pink, eyes shimmering.

“I love you too, Haru.”

Gently, Haru takes Makoto’s hand in his own. Together they turn to face the sea once more, hearts full of emotion and the understanding that whatever happens, nothing can separate them. Not when they are connected by this string of memories, binding them through the past and into the future.

**Author's Note:**

> Follow me [@randomwriter57](http://twitter.com/randomwriter57) on twitter | [@randomactuallywrites-57](http://randomactuallywrites-57.tumblr.com) on tumblr!


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